Prairie Protection Colorado was started by grassroots activists and members of Deep Green Resistance who refused to stand by while they witnessed the continued annihilation of prairie dogs up and down the Front Range. Our non-profit organization advocates for prairie dogs by drawing attention to the mass exterminations of prairie dog colonies through organizing and resisting the destruction of these last remaining prairie communities. PPC organizes on the ground and works ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​with grassroots advocates, local governments, the media and legal channels to cast a web of protection over the last remaining prairie dog colonies throughout Colorado's Front Range communities.

Colonies Saved Through PPC Campaigns and Advocacy:​​​

Ko Lot: Arapahoe County​

Midway Colony: Broomfield​

Thank You PPC and ALL Advocates! I Live Because of You!

PPC's Current Issues

​Exposing Key Players in the War on Wildlife Throughout Colorado (Recent Exterminations to Big Issues):​​

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Denver Water: Denver Water signed a contract with Ronnie Purcella of Animal and Pest Control Specialists to gas thousands of burrows between November of 2018 until April of 2019. Ronnie will continue to kill all survivors until each and every one suffers a suffocating death. There is NO reason for this annihilation, as Denver Water is not developing on the land they own, and they have plenty of land to relocate these prairie dogs to if for some reason they can't bear allowing them to live in their one and only homes. Stay tuned to our Facebook page for actions alerts on how you can help stop this needless annihilation.

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Ronnie Purcella and Animal and Pest Control Specialists:

Ronnie Purcella owns a pest control service that kills more prairie dogs than any other along the Front Range because he is the lowest bidder. Ronnie is ruthless and takes pleasure in these kills. He kills numerous non-targeted species with his favorite poison of choice, Fumitoxin. Ronnie was the killer of the Castle Rock Mall prairie dogs, has been hired by Denver Water, has killed key colonies in Longmont and Boulder and kills thousands of animals each year. Ronnie also claims to love animals and to be guided by Christian morals. Ronnie and other pest exterminators should not be legally permitted to ruthlessly kill the last of our wildlife communities.

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Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW): State Wildlife Officials play a huge role in the poisoning of prairie dogs and countless other wildlife species throughout Colorado. Not only do they poison prairie dogs and non-targeted species throughout the region with harmful poisons, they also are at war with predators such as mountain lions and bears in this state. CPW prides themselves on "trophy" animals and they cater to sports hunters since a lot of their funding comes from this industry. CPW facilitates pest control specialists and encourages the use of fumitoxin and other harmful poisons that are administered across Colorado's prairies.

APHIS's Wildlife Services: Wildlife Services is a division of the U.S. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services and focuses on exterminating wildlife. Wildlife Services kills between 2 and 4 million animals each fiscal year and does the majority of this through dousing poisons all over the land. In Colorado, the National Wildlife Research Center focuses on creating poisons that will most effectively kill native "nuisance" wildlife such as prairie dogs, raccoons and coyotes. They keep wild animals trapped throughout the facility so they can test different poisons on them for efficacy.

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Prairie Protection Colorado is working on challenging the state law that makes relocations across county lines nearly impossible. This year, PPC was able to get a cross county relocation secured after 6 months of working with land managers and commissioners to battle this hurdle. With our perseverance we were able to save hundreds of prairie dogs, however, it was extraordinarily difficult. PPC plans on challenging this law with our legal team in order to eliminate these restrictions that codify prairie dogs as a destructive rodent pest that should be exterminated rather than the keystone species of the prairies.

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Prairie Protection Colorado recognizes that working within the current structure of law and regulations will never be effective in protecting and preserving land and life. PPC continually works towards implementing new laws that give rights to nature and to prairie communities. These laws aim at banning poisons and any destructive harm to the soil, land, wildlife species and water. PPC's board members were plaintiff's on the first Rights of Nature legal case,Colorado River vs. State of Colorado . We plan to continue this work until the courts recognize that natural communities have a right to exist and thrive. The current legal system is clearly not working to protect those who are left and we need to restructure our laws and rights to include those of nature. Check out the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund to learn more about this approach and how you can get involved!